Puppet MastersS


Family

Humanitarian effort: Russian Duma mulls holiday leave for inmates with children


RT
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:44 UTC
Family visiting inmates in Russia
© Alexandr Kryazhev / Sputnik
Russian lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow inmates with young children to go home during school vacations, among other measures softening their punishment.

The bill, prepared and drafted by the government, includes a set of amendments to the criminal and procedure codes introducing various benefits for female inmates who are serving time and who have children under the age of 14. Male inmates would have the right to the benefits only if they raise their children alone. The amendments do not apply to those convicted of terrorism and crimes against minors.

The draft proposes that those who meet the requirements be allowed four periods of home leave per year, on condition that each home stay does not exceed 15 days (plus the time of travel between the penal colony and home). Inmates would also be granted short-time leave outside the colony for a walk with their children during the holidays.
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Yoda

Putin on shelling of Russian mobile hospital in Aleppo: Moscow will never accept attitude of international orgs to death of Russian medics


RT
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:24 UTC
putin
© Aleksey Nikolskyi / Sputnik
Commenting on the recent shelling of a Russian mobile hospital in Aleppo, Syria that killed two Russian medics, President Vladimir Putin said Moscow "will never accept" the absence of reaction from international organizations to the deaths.

"It is obvious to everybody that our medics came [to Syria] to resolve humanitarian issues only. They came there not to take part in the military action, but to help people, civilian population in particular,"Putin stressed.

Yet according to Russia's president, Moscow "has seen no assessment of what happened from any international organization."

According to Putin, the absence of international reaction "triggers some thoughts about how objective the coverage of some our partners is on what is happening [in Syria]."
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No Entry

JPMorgan, HSBC, Credit Agricole fined $520 million for rate manipulation


RT
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 16:22 UTC
jpmorgan
© Mike Segar / Reuters
After a five-year investigation, the European Commission has fined three major banks €485 million for rigging the crucial Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor).

The Commission said on Wednesday they were part of a seven bank cartel that colluded on setting the euro interest rate instead of competing with each other between September 2005 and May 2008.

JPMorgan was fined €337 million and Credit Agricole €114 million for five-month involvement in the conspiracy. HSBC got a €33 million penalty for its one-month participation.

The trio had refused to join a multi-bank settlement with four other lenders while denying any wrongdoing. By refusing to settle with the Commission, they missed the chance of a 10 percent discount on any fines.

The other four banks - Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale - settled with the Commission in 2013 for €820 million.
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Bomb

US-led coalition strikes Mosul hospital turned 'ISIS command & control HQ' inflicting heavy losses


RT
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 04:33 UTC
soldier
© Goran Tomasevic / ReutersAn Iraqi special forces soldier runs across a street after an Islamic State suicide car bomb attack during gunfight in Tahrir neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq, November 17, 2016.
The US-led coalition has conducted an airstrike on a hospital building in Mosul after Iraqi forces fell under fire coming from the complex and requested support. According to the US Central Command, all feasible precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties.

As Iraqi forces continue their offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), the ground operation has slowly progressed into the city, with the army retaking several neighborhoods in the east of the Iraqi megapolis.

However on Tuesday, Iraqi Security Forces were ambushed by the terrorists as government troops tried to recapture Al Salem hospital complex. The five-story building, local residents told AFP, is being used by jihadists as a command center for operations. The hospital roof is reportedly notorious as a sniper position in the eastern part of the city.

To crush IS resistance in the area, the 9th Armoured Division was sent to secure the Al Salam hospital. Reaching the furthest into the ISIS-held Mosul since the start of the offensive on October 17, the division became almost immediately surrounded by terrorists.

Comment: See also:

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Snakes in Suits

Lindsey Graham calls for Trump to toughen tone toward Russia, will launch separate probes into Russian "hacking"

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 16:17 UTC
Lindsey Graham
Having dropped out of the primary race almost exactly a year ago, prominent foreign policy hawk, Republic Senator Lindsey Graham told CNN during an interview today that he plans to launch two separate probes (from both of his subcommittees) into Russia's "hacking" and demand that President-elect Trump "take a much tougher tone towards Russia... or they will break up our alliances."

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Георгиевская ленточка

The real meaning of the Aleppo hospital tragedy and Russia's victory in Syria

Ruslan Ostashko
Fort Russ
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:04 UTC
Russian soldier
I am not surprised by the double standards of Western media and Western leaders who either don't want to recognize the fact that our military medics were killed or are issuing statements to the effect of "serves you right." I'm even more unsurprised by the absence or at least "cheesy" condolences that have been offered on the occasion of the murder of our military adviser. I'll say something cynical: I would be very worried if suddenly Western media and Western politicians started doing otherwise.

The point is that chivalry is a luxury that only the winners can afford, and the strength of the globalists' forces in Syria are now suffering a very serious defeat with very far-reaching consequences. Therefore, when the Pentagon is grinning and the International Red Cross is actually spitting on the memory of our medics, this means that everything is in order. This means that we are doing what's necessary. This means that our troops have found themselves on the right side of history and are very close to victory.

Our opponents have a long tradition of spitting on the graves of the dead when they can't beat the living. This is a sure sign that they are losing and that we are winning.

The situation for the globalists sponsoring and coordinating the terrorist "Syrian opposition" is so desperate that they are going to do anything to at least spoil the approaching victory of Russian troops in Syria. Catastrophe is nearing for the globalists and the moment is approaching when they will be deprived of the leverage they now have. This includes the leverage of control over certain American military resources.

A prudent commander would now be trying to quietly negotiate with Moscow on the withdrawal of American military instructors from Aleppo who are working there to coordinate the work of militants. But instead, the globalists are organizing mortar shelling of a Russian hospital as a farewell, perfectly knowing that the response will be maximally bloody. The chances of American and Western instructors exiting Aleppo alive are now equal to zero.

Comment: No condemnation: Moscow slams West for staying silent on bombing of Russian hospital

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Safe

Biggest privatization deal of 2016 sees 19.5% of Rosneft sold to Qatar, Glencore


RT
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:17 UTC
rosneft
© Sergei Karpukhin / ReutersWorkers gather at a well pad of the Rosneft-owned Prirazlomnoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nefteyugansk, Russia.
The sale of Russia's largest oil company Rosneft's share package to the natural resource trader Glencore International and a Qatari sovereign wealth fund for over $11 billion has become the biggest privatization deal of 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"That is the biggest privatization deal, the biggest sale and acquisition in the world's oil and gas sector in 2016," the president said, referring to the Rosneft share sale during the meeting with the Rosneft CEO, Igor Sechin, a statement published on the official Kremlin website said.

Sechin informed Putin about the closing of the share package sale and said that the Russian state budget will receive more than a trillion rubles ($17.5 billion) from this deal, and the acquisition of the Russian Bashneft oil company by Rosneft in October.
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Network

Trump taps wrestling CEO Linda McMahon as head of Small Business Administration


RT
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:12 UTC
Linda McMahon
© Mike Segar / ReutersLinda McMahon speaks to members of the news media after meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., November 30, 2016
Linda McMahon, professional wrestling magnate and member of the World Wrestling Entertainment family dynasty, has been named to serve as head of the Small Business Administration in President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet.

The 68-year-old co-founder and former CEO of WWE ran failed bids in Connecticut for a US Senate seat in 2010 and 2012. McMahon made the announcement over Twitter after a day of speculation that she would be appointed.

Trump applauded McMahon in his announcement of her appointment, noting her contributions to developing the WWE business structure.
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Bad Guys

War criminal David Cameron following in the footsteps of war criminal Tony Blair in launching firm to cash in on speaking gigs


RT
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:06 UTC
david cameron
© Yves Herman / Reuters
Former Prime Minister David Cameron is following in the footsteps of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown by setting up a firm to handle his business activities, and cashing in on bookings to speak in public.

Staff of the former PM registered The Office of David Cameron Ltd in North Lincolnshire in October.

As with The Office of Tony Blair - the trading name of Windrush Ventures No. 3 LP - it is expected Cameron will use the business structure to manage a lucrative speaking career.

The business was registered by Cameron's former political private secretary Laurence Mann, who is still working for him.

Friends of Cameron told the Times that setting up a business was a normal step for former prime ministers.
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Mr. Potato

Johnson says Saudi Arabia is a 'puppeteer' in Middle East proxy wars, Downing Street not amused

Patrick Wintour, Rowena Mason and Saeed Kamali Dehghan
The Guardian
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 15:31 UTC
Boris Johnson
© Gareth Fuller / Reuters
Boris Johnson accused Saudi Arabia of abusing Islam and acting as a puppeteer in proxy wars throughout the Middle East, in remarks that flout a longstanding Foreign Office convention not to criticize the UK's allies in public.

The foreign secretary told a conference in Rome last week that the behavior of Saudi Arabia, and also Iran, was a tragedy, adding that there was an absence of visionary leadership in the region that was willing to reach out across the Sunni-Shia divide.

At the event, Johnson said: "There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives. That's one of the biggest political problems in the whole region. And the tragedy for me - and that's why you have these proxy wars being fought the whole time in that area - is that there is not strong enough leadership in the countries themselves."
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